Ottawa youth program expands to fight gang recruitment and online exploitation

Ketcia Peters is CEO of the North-South Development Roots and Culture Canada, which operates the youth outreach program called "It's a Trap." Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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Ketcia Peters still remembers the moment a teacher told her she was a leader.

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As a teenager who had recently moved from Montreal to the United States and struggled to speak English, Peters said she often acted out in school rather than risk embarrassing herself in front of classmates. Eventually she was sent to an after-school program for students labelled as “bad kids.”

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That program changed her life.

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“One of the mentors spoke about being in jail for 20 years and turning his life around,” Peters said. “It was the first time I realized you could grow up in difficult circumstances and still change your future.”

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Nearly a decade after launching the volunteer-based crime prevention initiative in Ottawa classrooms, Peters stood inside the Vanier Community Services Centre on Friday to announce the expansion of “It’s A Trap,” a youth outreach program trying to get young people away from crime.

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The expansion is being funded through a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Peters said the money would allow the program to broaden its reach into more schools and community organizations across Ottawa.

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Ketcia Peters is CEO of the North-South Development Roots and Culture Canada, which operates the youth outreach program called “It’s a Trap.” Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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Launched in 2017 with presentations in a single classroom at the Adult High School on Rochester Street, the program began with a small proposal and a group of volunteers willing to speak honestly with youth about the realities of street life, said Peters, CEO of the North-South Development Roots and Culture Canada, which operates “It’s a Trap.”

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“We knew it was a crucial initiative,” she said. “Somebody just had to take the lead and rally the troops.”

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The program combines educators, police officers and mentors with lived experiences to speak with youth about the risks they face both online and in-person.

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Peters said those risks had changed significantly since the program began nine years ago.

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“They can’t always tell what’s real and what’s fake anymore,” she said. “They see people their age apparently living this amazing lifestyle, but they don’t understand the consequences behind it.”

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The program’s sessions walk youth through what Peters described as the “life cycle” of gang involvement. Speakers discuss sexual exploitation, online grooming and addiction, often through personal testimony from former offenders.

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“A lot of the time parents try to have these conversations, but it hits differently when it comes from someone who’s lived it,” Peters said.

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The expansion comes after years of mostly volunteer-run programming. Peters said staff and mentors often rearranged work schedules or took unpaid time off to continue running sessions in schools and community centres.